Dessert/52 recipes

Ginger-pear cake: a low-fat bundt cake with shredded pears, crystallized ginger, and whole wheat flour, topped with a ginger yogurt dollop. A healthier dessert for 12 with a surprisingly tender crumb.

Old-fashioned lemon chess pie with cornmeal as the traditional thickener and fresh lemon juice for tang. The simplest Southern dessert: 5 ingredients, one bowl, no fuss.

Portuguese coffee buttercake stacked from 12 thin butter wafers and filled with silky coffee French buttercream. Elegant sliceable dessert that rewards patient assembly.

Roasted plums with Greek yogurt, toasted hazelnuts, and a drizzle of honey. A 25-minute healthy dessert that turns firm supermarket plums into something silky, caramelized, and elegant.

Thai-style bananas simmered in sweetened coconut milk with a pinch of salt. A 4-ingredient dessert that doubles as a hot or cold treat, ready in 25 minutes.

Crepes filled with peaches poached in red wine, raspberry preserves, orange zest, and warm spices. An elegant French dessert using frozen peaches for year-round ease, ready in 25 minutes.

Banana fritters in a nutmeg-spiced batter, deep-fried until golden and tossed in powdered sugar. A quick stovetop dessert ready in under 25 minutes.

Three-ingredient flourless peanut butter cookies. Just peanut butter, sugar, and one egg. Naturally gluten-free, ready in 22 minutes. The classic dorm-room dessert.

Lighter ricotta chocolate mousse made with part-skim ricotta, gelatin, cocoa powder, and chocolate syrup. A 25-minute Weight Watchers-friendly chocolate dessert that skips heavy cream entirely.

Kompot w spirytusie, a traditional Polish 12-fruit compote with dried fruits, fresh apples, cranberries, cherries, and brandy. A Christmas Eve dessert simmered with warm spices.

Layered dessert squares with a flaky pie crust base, rum-spiked vanilla pudding, and a glossy cherry-cranberry topping with cinnamon. Light, fruity, and feeds 12.

Whole apples stuffed with brown sugar, pecans, and currants, wrapped in foil and baked right in the campfire coals. A rustic outdoor dessert ready in 25 minutes.

Fruity couscous sauteed in butter with rum-soaked raisins, sugar, and chopped nuts, topped with yogurt. A sweet, nutty side dish or light dessert ready in 25 minutes.

Layers of pecan shortbread crust, whipped cream cheese, chocolate pudding, and billowy whipped topping stacked into a cool, creamy no-bake dessert. Feeds 12 and vanishes even faster.

Elegant baked pear halves glazed with chutney and apple juice, dotted with butter and basted until tender and glossy. A refined side dish or light dessert that serves 12.

Giant apple cookie bakes a 12-inch pizza-style cookie loaded with reduced dried apples, walnuts, golden raisins, and cinnamon, drizzled with a tangy lemon icing. Sliceable shareable dessert.